Soapbox: Skills must grow with changing times

The recent resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki was not because he did not have the job skills.

Anyone who has worked in the federal government for any agency — and that includes me — will tell you bureaucracy is so entrenched that appointed political leaders may have very little influence on processes and procedures that have been in place for years. Politicians have to make someone the scapegoat when a problem occurs, and the VA’s problems are clearly huge.

The VA is dealing with a very fundamental issue of supply versus demand, i.e. supply of doctors, facilities, labs, technicians, and demand for these resources from returning veterans. Processes established and developed over time often cannot and are not changed or rebuilt when technology changes, the economic situation changes, etc. What we don’t know are the skills and competencies of those working in agencies like the VA.

If those at the top should be fired for incompetence, then let’s begin with Congress. They could be funding the VA and other agencies as supply and demand for services varies over time. People love to criticize Medicare, but Congress will not legally permit Medicare to negotiate with drug firms for lower prices.

How about education? Should the Secretary of Education be forced out of office because kids are not performing at the highest level on international tests? Maybe parents should do a better job of encouraging rigorous education and upgrading of skills from day one. People think the lower unemployment rate is great, but many do not understand that part of the drop in the unemployment rate is due to people with skills that do not match what is needed in a growing and changing job market. The labor force participation rate, i.e. the percentage of those who can work and actually do work, has been dropping for years. Who should be fired for this?

And how about the federal bureaucracy itself? Individuals at the federal level most often cannot be fired for incompetence, or lack of skills, as in the private sector; states most likely have the same problem, e.g. California and Illinois. One of the phrases I encountered multiple times and in different agencies was “we pretend to work and they pretend to pay us.” Government is considered a safe place to hide! Forget skills.

Bureaucracies are so entrenched in almost any major agency, whether at the federal, state or local levels, that innovation may be stifled, creativity discouraged, and a “don’t rock the boat” mentality is predominant. And we wonder why labor mobility in this country is at a standstill in many areas.

Congress cannot be assumed to solve any of these problems — most are beholden to lobbyists who control the purse strings. Both Sen. Mark Udall and Cong”ressman Cory Gardner ”certainly understand who is pushing their political” “skills.”

So what is the solution to stagnant bureaucracies, eroding education standards, nontransferable job skills and similar issues? My answer — raise our education standards with an emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Poor skills mean lack of job mobility. Progress comes the old fashioned way: You have to earn it with skills that grow with changing times.